The NYTimes posted a piece yesterday (link) showing that according to a recent Palestinian opinion poll, 84% of Palestinians supported the Mercaz Harav attack, 64% support the ongoing bombing of sderot, and 75% believe that the Peace Talks are a waste of time. In the words of NYTimes:
A new poll shows that an overwhelming majority of Paelstinians support the attack this month on a Jewish seminary in Jerusalem that killed eight young men, most of them teenagers, an indication of the alarming level of Israeli-Palestinian tension in recent weeks.
The survey also shows unprecedented support for the shooting of rockets on Israeli towns from the Gaza Strip and for the end of the peace negotiations between Palestinian and Israeli leaders.
The pollster, Khalil Shikaki, said he was shocked because the survey, taken last week, showed greater support for violence than any other he had conducted over the past 15 years in the Palestinian areas. Never before, he said, had a majority favored an end to negotiations or the shooting of rockets at Israel.
Now, this poll is worrying in the extreme. Why? Because we are negotiating with the Palestinians. But they have no intention of making Peace with us! What is the point? It feels like a simple delusion. See this video (link) by the Hamas MP (We seek Death like They Seek Life!) or the fact that last week Abbas admitted that if the political Process failed, they would be happy to return to armed struggle!!
But there is another aspect of this poll which makes me want to point this poll out in particular. It is because Haaretz today just ignored it. Instead it published a different poll (link):
Study: Israeli Jews becoming increasingly racist toward Arabs
We are rascist? How about them wanting to kill us! Why is HaAretz consistently so down on ourselves, on Israel? We are always awful; the Palestinians, helpless victims. I like reading HaAretz. It is intelligent ... and has a great arts and culture section. But it is frequently so self-hating and so post-Zionist.
This left-wing post-Zionism and always seeing ourselves as wrong, evil, rascist etc. is worrying. It is worrying because many of the so proclaimed "intellectual elite" and media leaders in Israel are precisely these Left Wingers and they routinely delegitimise anyone who holds different political views as if they were barbarian.
Please see this excellent op-ed by Amnon Rubinstein (link), and this (link) depressing article by Daniel Gordis.
They relate to the emptiness of the Left wing secular as well. Just today on the radio I heard a presenter talking about how most secular Israelis only know that Purim is a day one gets dressed up. They don't even know the Purim story! They have never heard the Megilla!
What's to be done?
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Our Global Shrinking World
The other day, I took my students on a class trip. As we entered the Israel Supreme Court one of the student's cellphone's rang. It was her Mom calling from the U.S. And I was struck by a certain irony.
On the one hand we have become global. Worldwide travel has expanded as once "exotic" travel locations have become rather ordinary tourist destinations. We can reach other countries and continents at the click of our mouse. We can talk from any place in the universe. One would imagine that this would expand our horizons, widen our vision, give us the opportunity to explore and experience beyond our home upbringing, the community and lifestyle in which we were raised so that we might become truly global.
But in fact, the opposite has frequently become true. Globalisation has allowed people to closet themselves inside a small comfortable compartment and not to encounter anything new, challenging, different, "other". My student in Israel doesn't necessarily talk to Israelis. She walks down Emek Refaim listening to her iPod, talking to her circle of American friends on her cellphone. She barely sees the streets around her. She spends her evenings watching American TV shows that she downloads on the internet. One can keep up with the baseball at home. Why attend an Israeli Basketball game? One can have the music that one likes; Why get to know Israeli music? One can read the NYTimes; Why read Maariv or Yediot? And this is true all the way around the world. A Muslim child in Birmingham will grow up watching Al Jazeera instead of the BBC. People walk through the streets and ignore everyone around as they communicate on their cellphones. I can pick up my email anywhere in the Globe, can take comfort in my favourite websites! I never leave home; my parents are always at the other end of the phone line!
I cannot help but feel that this is horribly regrettable. We are supposed to interact with our surroundings. To integrate, to be challenged, to watch and learn, to experience that which is different as it challenges our assumptions about what is "normal" and "right," as we can connect with people who live around us, recognizing them as people, embracing the landscape - urban, human, natural, national - around us. We are supposed to leave home and express our independence and learn how to fend for ourselves. I have always hated walkmans etc. as they cut me off from the environment around me... I resent the virtual reality that earphones thrust me into. And that is without even stepping beyond my immediate environment. Of course this is far more extreme when we travel. How can someone reside in another country without truly engaging in the most basic cultural building block – a foreign language?
I intend to write a follow up to this email with specific attention to Israel Yeshiva Year-Programs. But this is enough for now.
I'll summarise. The selfsame technology that facilitates our ability to extend our global reach as we can see further a-field mysteriously allows us to cocoon ourselves inwards in a cosy familiar environment which eclipses challenge and self-expansion. That is very unfortunate indeed.
On the one hand we have become global. Worldwide travel has expanded as once "exotic" travel locations have become rather ordinary tourist destinations. We can reach other countries and continents at the click of our mouse. We can talk from any place in the universe. One would imagine that this would expand our horizons, widen our vision, give us the opportunity to explore and experience beyond our home upbringing, the community and lifestyle in which we were raised so that we might become truly global.
But in fact, the opposite has frequently become true. Globalisation has allowed people to closet themselves inside a small comfortable compartment and not to encounter anything new, challenging, different, "other". My student in Israel doesn't necessarily talk to Israelis. She walks down Emek Refaim listening to her iPod, talking to her circle of American friends on her cellphone. She barely sees the streets around her. She spends her evenings watching American TV shows that she downloads on the internet. One can keep up with the baseball at home. Why attend an Israeli Basketball game? One can have the music that one likes; Why get to know Israeli music? One can read the NYTimes; Why read Maariv or Yediot? And this is true all the way around the world. A Muslim child in Birmingham will grow up watching Al Jazeera instead of the BBC. People walk through the streets and ignore everyone around as they communicate on their cellphones. I can pick up my email anywhere in the Globe, can take comfort in my favourite websites! I never leave home; my parents are always at the other end of the phone line!
I cannot help but feel that this is horribly regrettable. We are supposed to interact with our surroundings. To integrate, to be challenged, to watch and learn, to experience that which is different as it challenges our assumptions about what is "normal" and "right," as we can connect with people who live around us, recognizing them as people, embracing the landscape - urban, human, natural, national - around us. We are supposed to leave home and express our independence and learn how to fend for ourselves. I have always hated walkmans etc. as they cut me off from the environment around me... I resent the virtual reality that earphones thrust me into. And that is without even stepping beyond my immediate environment. Of course this is far more extreme when we travel. How can someone reside in another country without truly engaging in the most basic cultural building block – a foreign language?
I intend to write a follow up to this email with specific attention to Israel Yeshiva Year-Programs. But this is enough for now.
I'll summarise. The selfsame technology that facilitates our ability to extend our global reach as we can see further a-field mysteriously allows us to cocoon ourselves inwards in a cosy familiar environment which eclipses challenge and self-expansion. That is very unfortunate indeed.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Agnon, the Nobel Prize, and The Song of the Levites
As I often do, this is yet another post about Israeli life and why I love it here! and today, I would simply like to draw your attention to a simple banknote. Yes! the Fifty Shekel. What is so special about this piece of paper?
Well as you can see, this note has a person on it. That person is the fabulous novelist and writer, S.Y. Agnon. Agnon had a deep religious sense about him, a passionate Zionism, a wicked cynicism and a masterful pen. I don't always understand the allusions in his writing but when I figure it out, I understand how his vision was insightful, penetrating and entertaining. He beautifully fused the "old" of tradition and the "new" of Modern Hebrew, and created wonderful literature.
Well, in truth, it isn't really Agnon that I like on this banknote but the TEXT written in small on the left hand side of the banknote. It is part of Agnon's acceptance speech for his Nobel Prize. The entire speech can be found here (link) but this is the section quoted on the Banknote.
"As a result of the historic catastrophe in which Titus of Rome destroyed Jerusalem and Israel was exiled from its land, I was born in one of the cities of the Exile. But always I regarded myself as one who was born in Jerusalem. In a dream, in a vision of the night, I saw myself standing with my brother-Levites in the Holy Temple, singing with them the songs of David, King of Israel, melodies such as no ear has heard since the day our city was destroyed and its people went into exile. I suspect that the angels in charge of the Shrine of Music, fearful lest I sing in wakefulness what I had sung in dream, made me forget by day what I had sung at night; for if my brethren, the sons of my people, were to hear, they would be unable to bear their grief over the happiness they have lost. To console me for having prevented me from singing with my mouth, they enable me to compose songs in writing."
On occasion, I read this out to a class, and I feel myself becoming emotional. These are deep Jewish-Zionist sentiments. The notion that we were born in the diaspora by some "Historical catastrophe" due to the Exile that our nation is experienced is just incredible. The sense that Agnon talks about his impetus to write as a continuation of the songs of the Leviim in the Mikdash is amazing. All of this on a simple banknote.
Next time you have a spare moment , take out your 50 shekel and read this wonderful speech. It is truly a classic!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Parshat Vayikra: The Power of Preparation
I find the opening Rashi to Sefer Vayikra very special:
1. And He called to Moses. Prior to any communication with Moses... God preceded by calling [to Moses] [קְרִיאָה] is an expression of affection, the [same] expression employed by the ministering angels [when addressing each other], as it says, “And one called (וְקָרָא) to the other…” (Isa. 6:3).
To the prophets of the nations of the world, however, He revealed Himself through expressions denoting coincidence and impurity, as the verse says, “and God happened to [meet] (וַיִּקָּר) Balaam” (Num. 23:4). - [Bemidbar Rabbah 52:5] [The expression וַיִּקָּר has the meaning of a coincidental happening, and also alludes to impurity. [See Deut. 23:11, regarding the expression מִקְרֵה לַיְלָה.]
The notion that Kedusha is created by preparation, by planning and forethought, is a cornerstone of Judaism. Contemporary society romanticises about spontaneity as if immediate, instinctive and impulsive actions are an ultimate test of Truth; a window into one's heart, a person's inner world. Hence "Love at first sight" is a virtue in the eyes of some. In fact "Love at first sight" is a very bad idea and will generally lead to a failed relationship. For the success of a love relationship is based upon many qualities but it is something tht is built painstakingly and slowly, over time.
On Friday night, we recite the phrase:
סוף מעשה במחשבה תחילה -
"The (successful) completion of a process is due to the initial thought and planning"
Before God engages Moshe in conversation, He calls out to him, allowing him to prepare and to enter the correct frame of mind, and only afterwards does He engage Moshe in conversation.
Now this Midrash works at a peshat level here too. after all, Rashi is sensitive to the fact that Parashat Vayikra opens in a very unusual manner.
א) וַיִּקְרָא אֶל מֹשֶׁה וַיְדַבֵּר יְדֹוָד אֵלָיו מֵאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד לֵאמֹר:
ב) דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם
Why the double intro here? Why not a simple: ויְדַבֵּר יְדֹוָד אֶל מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר?
A global look at peshat explains it beautifully. At the end of the Book of Shemot, we read:
"Then a cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter into the Tent of Meeting, because the cloud abode on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle."(Exodus 40:34-36)
Moshe is waiting for God to invite him in. Why is Moses not allowed in initially? Why the wait? and ... at what point does God respond? Very simply, it is in our opening passuk:
"And [He] called to Moses, and God spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying..." (Leviticus 1:1)
In other words, Moshe has to wait for God! Then, "Vayikra" - God calls him in - "VaYedaber" - he speaks to him. But why the wait? Back to Rashi... There is value in the wait. It prepares Moshe for the great rendezvous with the Almighty. God does not surprise us. He teaches us the lesson that in order to experience His presence, we need to prepare ourselves, to purify our thoughts and minds.
And indeed our tradition prepares for the entire month of Ellul before Rosh Hashanna, we prepare on Friday so that we are ready for Shabbat. What is Pesach without the planning beforehand? To enter the Temple, all manner of purification processes are necessary! If it is to be worthwhile, it needs prior planning and forethought. The Talmud tells us that the pious men of that era would sit and prepare before prayer. They planned, meditated, studied, for a considerable amount of time. Prayer also needs planning in order to make it meaningful. We cannot expect prayer to be deep and moving if we run off the street with a hundred things on our minds and then say the words. Our minds are elsewhere! Proper prayer needs serious planning.
This lesson is a difficult one in our instant, soundbite, take-out, AIM age. And yet, if we DO want to reach Kedusha, a genuine contact with God in a deep place, a sense of His presence, it needs to be preceded by קריאה - by anticipation and preparation. It takes time; it is a slow, gradual process. It is not sponaneity but rather the hard persistent work that precedes our Encounter with God, allowing us to enter into the "Tent of Meeting."
1. And He called to Moses. Prior to any communication with Moses... God preceded by calling [to Moses] [קְרִיאָה] is an expression of affection, the [same] expression employed by the ministering angels [when addressing each other], as it says, “And one called (וְקָרָא) to the other…” (Isa. 6:3).
To the prophets of the nations of the world, however, He revealed Himself through expressions denoting coincidence and impurity, as the verse says, “and God happened to [meet] (וַיִּקָּר) Balaam” (Num. 23:4). - [Bemidbar Rabbah 52:5] [The expression וַיִּקָּר has the meaning of a coincidental happening, and also alludes to impurity. [See Deut. 23:11, regarding the expression מִקְרֵה לַיְלָה.]
The notion that Kedusha is created by preparation, by planning and forethought, is a cornerstone of Judaism. Contemporary society romanticises about spontaneity as if immediate, instinctive and impulsive actions are an ultimate test of Truth; a window into one's heart, a person's inner world. Hence "Love at first sight" is a virtue in the eyes of some. In fact "Love at first sight" is a very bad idea and will generally lead to a failed relationship. For the success of a love relationship is based upon many qualities but it is something tht is built painstakingly and slowly, over time.
On Friday night, we recite the phrase:
סוף מעשה במחשבה תחילה -
"The (successful) completion of a process is due to the initial thought and planning"
Before God engages Moshe in conversation, He calls out to him, allowing him to prepare and to enter the correct frame of mind, and only afterwards does He engage Moshe in conversation.
Now this Midrash works at a peshat level here too. after all, Rashi is sensitive to the fact that Parashat Vayikra opens in a very unusual manner.
א) וַיִּקְרָא אֶל מֹשֶׁה וַיְדַבֵּר יְדֹוָד אֵלָיו מֵאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד לֵאמֹר:
ב) דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם
Why the double intro here? Why not a simple: ויְדַבֵּר יְדֹוָד אֶל מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר?
A global look at peshat explains it beautifully. At the end of the Book of Shemot, we read:
"Then a cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter into the Tent of Meeting, because the cloud abode on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle."(Exodus 40:34-36)
Moshe is waiting for God to invite him in. Why is Moses not allowed in initially? Why the wait? and ... at what point does God respond? Very simply, it is in our opening passuk:
"And [He] called to Moses, and God spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying..." (Leviticus 1:1)
In other words, Moshe has to wait for God! Then, "Vayikra" - God calls him in - "VaYedaber" - he speaks to him. But why the wait? Back to Rashi... There is value in the wait. It prepares Moshe for the great rendezvous with the Almighty. God does not surprise us. He teaches us the lesson that in order to experience His presence, we need to prepare ourselves, to purify our thoughts and minds.
And indeed our tradition prepares for the entire month of Ellul before Rosh Hashanna, we prepare on Friday so that we are ready for Shabbat. What is Pesach without the planning beforehand? To enter the Temple, all manner of purification processes are necessary! If it is to be worthwhile, it needs prior planning and forethought. The Talmud tells us that the pious men of that era would sit and prepare before prayer. They planned, meditated, studied, for a considerable amount of time. Prayer also needs planning in order to make it meaningful. We cannot expect prayer to be deep and moving if we run off the street with a hundred things on our minds and then say the words. Our minds are elsewhere! Proper prayer needs serious planning.
This lesson is a difficult one in our instant, soundbite, take-out, AIM age. And yet, if we DO want to reach Kedusha, a genuine contact with God in a deep place, a sense of His presence, it needs to be preceded by קריאה - by anticipation and preparation. It takes time; it is a slow, gradual process. It is not sponaneity but rather the hard persistent work that precedes our Encounter with God, allowing us to enter into the "Tent of Meeting."
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Mercaz Harav - Everyone knows Someone
I'd like to post two points about Thursday's pigua which is still so much in our minds.
The news of just so many teenagers killed in the Mercaz HaRav pigua has been heartbreaking. Moreover, with two kids killed from the Gush, one in Efrat and another in Neve Daniel, it has been very close to home. Israel is so small, that everyone knows someone involved. The boy killed in Neve Daniel has a sister in my daughter's class. The boy from Kochav Hashachar is the son of the Mohel who performed my son's Brit Mila. On Friday, I attended the Lavaye (funeral) of Avraham David Moses. Only when at the funeral did I realise that I knew both the father and the step-father of this child.
But this email that I received today took this all to a new level. It is from someone that I work with at Nefesh B'Nefesh:
Every morning I take the 35 bus line to work. It's a quick ride and usually takes no more than 12 minutes. The third stop after I get on by the shuk is directly in front of Yeshivat Merkaz HaRav. This morning I found myself a bit anxious, unsure of what I was going to see as we passed by. As I looked around, I saw death notices pasted all over the street and flowers that had been brought lined the entrance to the Yeshiva.
When the bus pulled up to the stop, the driver shut off the engine and stood. With tears in his eyes he told everyone sitting on the bus that one of the boys killed on Thursday night was his nephew. He asked if everyone on the bus would mind if he spoke for a few minutes in memory of his nephew and the other boys that were killed. After seeing head nods all over the bus he began to speak. With a clear and proud voice, he spoke beautifully about his nephew and said that he was a person who was constantly on the lookout for how to help out anyone in need. He was always searching for a way to make things better. He loved learning, and had a passion for working out the intricacies of the Gemara. He was excited to join the army in a few years, and wanted to eventually work in informal education.
As he continued to speak, I noticed that the elderly woman sitting next to me was crying. I looked into my bag, reached for a tissue and passed it to her. She looked at me and told me that she too had lost someone she knew in the attack. Her neighbors child was another one of the boys killed. As she held my hand tightly, she stood up and asked if she too could say a few words in memory of her neighbor. She spoke of a young man filled with a zest for life. Every friday he would visit her with a few flowers for shabbat and a short dvar torah that he had learned that week in Yeshiva. This past shabbat, she had no flowers.
When I got to work, one of my colleagues who lives in Efrat told me that her son was friends with 2 of the boys who had been killed. One of those boys was the stepson of a man who used to teach in Brovenders and comes to my shul in Riverdale every Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur to be a chazan for one of the minyanim.
We are all affected by what goes on in Israel. Whether you know someone who was killed or know someone who knows someone or even if you don't know anyone at all, you are affected. The 8 boys who were killed will continue to impact us all individually and as a nation. Each one of us has the ability to make a profound impact on our world.
This coming wednesday morning, I will be at Ben Gurion airport at 7 am with Nefesh B'Nefesh welcoming 40 new olim to Israel. We will not deter. We can not give up. We will continue to live our lives and hope and work for change, understanding and peace.
A second point is about the dignity and restraint which everyone has been exhibiting here. At the Levaye there were tears but no anger, no calls for vengeance. Just silence, tears and palpable grief. In fact, more than that. The mother of Avraham David Moses thanked God for "the 16 years we had the privilege of raising him, 16 years of purity of heart and honesty." How can a mother in her grief respond in that way? It is simply incredible.
On the night of the pigua, a few people stood opposite Mercaz Harav calling chants for vengeance and "Death to Arabs." The Rosh Yeshiva went to them and aske dthem to leave. "This is not our way," he told them. "We respond with love of the land, love of Torah, love of Israel. we will rebuild our land, our nation and remain attached to Torah."
How starkly different we are to our enemies. May we always be filled with gentle dignity, love and hope, even when our enemies exploit those "weaknesses" to frighten and hurt us.
The news of just so many teenagers killed in the Mercaz HaRav pigua has been heartbreaking. Moreover, with two kids killed from the Gush, one in Efrat and another in Neve Daniel, it has been very close to home. Israel is so small, that everyone knows someone involved. The boy killed in Neve Daniel has a sister in my daughter's class. The boy from Kochav Hashachar is the son of the Mohel who performed my son's Brit Mila. On Friday, I attended the Lavaye (funeral) of Avraham David Moses. Only when at the funeral did I realise that I knew both the father and the step-father of this child.
But this email that I received today took this all to a new level. It is from someone that I work with at Nefesh B'Nefesh:
Every morning I take the 35 bus line to work. It's a quick ride and usually takes no more than 12 minutes. The third stop after I get on by the shuk is directly in front of Yeshivat Merkaz HaRav. This morning I found myself a bit anxious, unsure of what I was going to see as we passed by. As I looked around, I saw death notices pasted all over the street and flowers that had been brought lined the entrance to the Yeshiva.
When the bus pulled up to the stop, the driver shut off the engine and stood. With tears in his eyes he told everyone sitting on the bus that one of the boys killed on Thursday night was his nephew. He asked if everyone on the bus would mind if he spoke for a few minutes in memory of his nephew and the other boys that were killed. After seeing head nods all over the bus he began to speak. With a clear and proud voice, he spoke beautifully about his nephew and said that he was a person who was constantly on the lookout for how to help out anyone in need. He was always searching for a way to make things better. He loved learning, and had a passion for working out the intricacies of the Gemara. He was excited to join the army in a few years, and wanted to eventually work in informal education.
As he continued to speak, I noticed that the elderly woman sitting next to me was crying. I looked into my bag, reached for a tissue and passed it to her. She looked at me and told me that she too had lost someone she knew in the attack. Her neighbors child was another one of the boys killed. As she held my hand tightly, she stood up and asked if she too could say a few words in memory of her neighbor. She spoke of a young man filled with a zest for life. Every friday he would visit her with a few flowers for shabbat and a short dvar torah that he had learned that week in Yeshiva. This past shabbat, she had no flowers.
When I got to work, one of my colleagues who lives in Efrat told me that her son was friends with 2 of the boys who had been killed. One of those boys was the stepson of a man who used to teach in Brovenders and comes to my shul in Riverdale every Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur to be a chazan for one of the minyanim.
We are all affected by what goes on in Israel. Whether you know someone who was killed or know someone who knows someone or even if you don't know anyone at all, you are affected. The 8 boys who were killed will continue to impact us all individually and as a nation. Each one of us has the ability to make a profound impact on our world.
This coming wednesday morning, I will be at Ben Gurion airport at 7 am with Nefesh B'Nefesh welcoming 40 new olim to Israel. We will not deter. We can not give up. We will continue to live our lives and hope and work for change, understanding and peace.
A second point is about the dignity and restraint which everyone has been exhibiting here. At the Levaye there were tears but no anger, no calls for vengeance. Just silence, tears and palpable grief. In fact, more than that. The mother of Avraham David Moses thanked God for "the 16 years we had the privilege of raising him, 16 years of purity of heart and honesty." How can a mother in her grief respond in that way? It is simply incredible.
On the night of the pigua, a few people stood opposite Mercaz Harav calling chants for vengeance and "Death to Arabs." The Rosh Yeshiva went to them and aske dthem to leave. "This is not our way," he told them. "We respond with love of the land, love of Torah, love of Israel. we will rebuild our land, our nation and remain attached to Torah."
How starkly different we are to our enemies. May we always be filled with gentle dignity, love and hope, even when our enemies exploit those "weaknesses" to frighten and hurt us.
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Mercaz Harav
Words fail us.
So young.
Such a tragedy.
So many families torn apart, communities in sorrow.
מן המיצר קראתי -ה ענני במרחב -ה
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Shishi Mishpachti - Friday Night Family Dinner
As many of you must know by now, I love expressions of Jewish culture in a secular guise. That is why I love this website (link). It is a new project that tries to encourage families to have ONE meal TOGETHER each week. Well, when they did market research, they discovered that for Israelis the most obvious time was Friday Night dinner. And so they have created a project to raise the profile of the good old-fashioned Friday Night Shabbat Meal!
The Website includes recipes; the text of Kiddush, an explanation of all the traditional friday night customs from Gefilte Fish to Shalom Aleichem, and also Zemirot. It is on the one hand clearly secular - there is a list of Israeli celebrities who are supporting and backing this project - and on the other hand, totally traditional. Lots of Fun! Check it out.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Ashkelon, Sderot and the Gaza Problem.
Over 200 rockets in the past 4 days. Ashkelon under fire.
We are all distressed, upset, frustrated, and yes - feeling helpless.
Well, sounds like the Government haven't got a clue. They are threatening a ground assault, and it all sounds worryingly familiar from last summer. Yes... we can send the troops in, but do we have a clear objective? Do we have an exit strategy? How do we declare to ourselves and the world that we have defeated the enemy? are they 100% sure they can stop the Kassaams?
I would like to make a few points on this topic.
1. Entering Gaza is futile. I believe that Hamas have built Hizbolla style bunkers and we are in for some nasty surprises. Moreover, what do we do when we are in there? We are simply targets. We cannot check every home, every street, every inch of every orchard.
And if we do go in and the rocket fire continues, we are weakened and humiliated. If we go in and even 1 Kassam is fired, then we are in BIG BIG trouble. We must be 1000% sure that we can stop it or else we shouldn't step a foot in there.
I think that entering Gaza in full force will kill alot of Israelis and will at most, cause a pause in the rocket fire. It will not stop it.
2. The Palestinians have nothing to lose.
They are already dirt poor. They have corrupt government. All they have is their hatred of Israel seated in an arab sense of pride and vengeance, mixed with Islamist belief. However much we hit them, they will see their fighters as heroes. They will not stop trying to weaken and annihilate Israel.
Sometimes, a person figures out that threats are empty. They lose a sense of fear. I once knew of a kid who became delinquent. How? He kept on getting into trouble with school. Soon he figured out... what can they REALLy do to me? Most? - send me home... my parents will yell. He developed a thick skin to that and then there was nothing they could threaten him with. Get expelled? so what?! So he began stealing. Got caught by the police. He was under age. again, very quickly he learned: what is the worst they can do? They cannot jail him. They cannot beat him? So he learned that arrest isn't soooo bad. etc.
Gaza is similar. They are quickly learning that what is Israel REALLY going to do? a bomb here? A house search there? Lack of food? So? - We can still survive!
3. This is a serious threat to Israel's existence.
Don't mistake this. Hamas want us gone. Forever. This is just another attempt to chip away at Israel.
No society can live with cities under rocket fire.
4. One cannot run Israel under threat without Zionism.
One ingredient in our national fibre has to be that we are struggling and we all need to pitch in and fight. Our post-zionist politicians who are more interested in money and standard-of-living are a big problem in this situation.
And more than this. Israel has to be more than surviving the next Kassaam. We have to have a country to build, a national objective, a vision. Israeli society is suffering because no-one talks the language of Zionism, of dreams, of hope, of what we want to build a society for, of our vision of the Jewish future here in eretz Yisrael of the society that we can be and must be if this is to be worthwhile. Zionism cannot be simply about survival or else we are going to wither and collapse.
Without a positive objective, it is too exhausting, too draining.
So what is the solution?
I don't know... but I Do know that entering Gaza is a mistake (unless they have some new trick up their sleeves); that statements like "we'll show them" that Barak and Olmert have been saying are just empty ridiculous words.
We need to show the Arabs that they lose by doing this.
We need to show them that they cannot break us.
In this environment:
5. The Modern Sensationalist Press is a liability
What I mean by this is that today's press loves human interest stories, hysteria and victims. They pump up misery to pump up ratings. To this end they sow seeds of panic and desperation, fear and weakness into Israeli society. we need precisely the opposite. We need courage and a resolute; "we shall overcome". we need to move away from quick fixes into long term solutions.
A big part of this is the national psychology. People have to realise that this is not America. We are in for a long and bitter struggle here. Anything less than that is fantasy.
Maybe we have to set up one new sttlement for every 10 Kassaams. maybe we declare that for every rocket, we push back the Gaza Fence 10 yards. Maybe we have to say that we are resolute and invest in creating huge bombproof shopping malls and recreation "domes" in sderot and Ashkelon so that people can enjoy themseleves and that the rockets will not rock us. Maybe we need to negotiate with Egypt and the intl. community to move the entire population of Gaza away from our border so that they cannot harm us? To a place which has an economic and civilian infrastructure. (Now that might seriously worry Hamas!) Maybe the World Bank and EU can begin investigating why the Billions they invested in Gaza didn't result in new housing and tourism projects and Industrial Parks etc. Maybe they can convince the Gazans to devote their meagre funds and energies to better causes.
We need new thinking. We need fresh paradigms of thought.
If you have any positive suggestions add them here.
I am tired of the old solutions. They don't work.
We are all distressed, upset, frustrated, and yes - feeling helpless.
Well, sounds like the Government haven't got a clue. They are threatening a ground assault, and it all sounds worryingly familiar from last summer. Yes... we can send the troops in, but do we have a clear objective? Do we have an exit strategy? How do we declare to ourselves and the world that we have defeated the enemy? are they 100% sure they can stop the Kassaams?
I would like to make a few points on this topic.
1. Entering Gaza is futile. I believe that Hamas have built Hizbolla style bunkers and we are in for some nasty surprises. Moreover, what do we do when we are in there? We are simply targets. We cannot check every home, every street, every inch of every orchard.
And if we do go in and the rocket fire continues, we are weakened and humiliated. If we go in and even 1 Kassam is fired, then we are in BIG BIG trouble. We must be 1000% sure that we can stop it or else we shouldn't step a foot in there.
I think that entering Gaza in full force will kill alot of Israelis and will at most, cause a pause in the rocket fire. It will not stop it.
2. The Palestinians have nothing to lose.
They are already dirt poor. They have corrupt government. All they have is their hatred of Israel seated in an arab sense of pride and vengeance, mixed with Islamist belief. However much we hit them, they will see their fighters as heroes. They will not stop trying to weaken and annihilate Israel.
Sometimes, a person figures out that threats are empty. They lose a sense of fear. I once knew of a kid who became delinquent. How? He kept on getting into trouble with school. Soon he figured out... what can they REALLy do to me? Most? - send me home... my parents will yell. He developed a thick skin to that and then there was nothing they could threaten him with. Get expelled? so what?! So he began stealing. Got caught by the police. He was under age. again, very quickly he learned: what is the worst they can do? They cannot jail him. They cannot beat him? So he learned that arrest isn't soooo bad. etc.
Gaza is similar. They are quickly learning that what is Israel REALLY going to do? a bomb here? A house search there? Lack of food? So? - We can still survive!
3. This is a serious threat to Israel's existence.
Don't mistake this. Hamas want us gone. Forever. This is just another attempt to chip away at Israel.
No society can live with cities under rocket fire.
4. One cannot run Israel under threat without Zionism.
One ingredient in our national fibre has to be that we are struggling and we all need to pitch in and fight. Our post-zionist politicians who are more interested in money and standard-of-living are a big problem in this situation.
And more than this. Israel has to be more than surviving the next Kassaam. We have to have a country to build, a national objective, a vision. Israeli society is suffering because no-one talks the language of Zionism, of dreams, of hope, of what we want to build a society for, of our vision of the Jewish future here in eretz Yisrael of the society that we can be and must be if this is to be worthwhile. Zionism cannot be simply about survival or else we are going to wither and collapse.
Without a positive objective, it is too exhausting, too draining.
So what is the solution?
I don't know... but I Do know that entering Gaza is a mistake (unless they have some new trick up their sleeves); that statements like "we'll show them" that Barak and Olmert have been saying are just empty ridiculous words.
We need to show the Arabs that they lose by doing this.
We need to show them that they cannot break us.
In this environment:
5. The Modern Sensationalist Press is a liability
What I mean by this is that today's press loves human interest stories, hysteria and victims. They pump up misery to pump up ratings. To this end they sow seeds of panic and desperation, fear and weakness into Israeli society. we need precisely the opposite. We need courage and a resolute; "we shall overcome". we need to move away from quick fixes into long term solutions.
A big part of this is the national psychology. People have to realise that this is not America. We are in for a long and bitter struggle here. Anything less than that is fantasy.
Maybe we have to set up one new sttlement for every 10 Kassaams. maybe we declare that for every rocket, we push back the Gaza Fence 10 yards. Maybe we have to say that we are resolute and invest in creating huge bombproof shopping malls and recreation "domes" in sderot and Ashkelon so that people can enjoy themseleves and that the rockets will not rock us. Maybe we need to negotiate with Egypt and the intl. community to move the entire population of Gaza away from our border so that they cannot harm us? To a place which has an economic and civilian infrastructure. (Now that might seriously worry Hamas!) Maybe the World Bank and EU can begin investigating why the Billions they invested in Gaza didn't result in new housing and tourism projects and Industrial Parks etc. Maybe they can convince the Gazans to devote their meagre funds and energies to better causes.
We need new thinking. We need fresh paradigms of thought.
If you have any positive suggestions add them here.
I am tired of the old solutions. They don't work.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Lotto
The Israeli National Lottery (Mifal Hapayis) provides a tremendous number of services to the wider community. From Community centres to health clinics; from hospitals to special grants to soldiers, from school programs to funding day care centres for the elderly. Every city has many buildings that are dedicated by the Lottery. (Little Alon Shevut has at least three!)
All well and good. Many Thanks!
And yet, the media is swamped by advertising for the Lottery. Today my six-year-old was singing along: "Lotto, Lotto, Lotto, Mi Haba BaLotto!" as I listened to the enticing radio commercial telling me just how easily one can become a millionaire. (My 3 yr old sings it too!) The orange Payis booths are in every mall and every shopping street. The ads are on the radio and even on National TV which legally has no commercials will broadcast ads for the Lotto.
So where is my point? I think that in a country in which many people are rather impoverished, where gambling and casinos are illegal, I simply do not understand why I am being battered at all times by a slick advertising campaign aimed at getting me to gamble! Is gambling just fine when it goes to charity? No! gambling is a problem because poor people with a miserable present and dreams of a better future squander the money that they do not have and get into debt by risking their money on a whim. That is precisely what happens with Lotto, Totto, Chish-Gad and all the other products. I was in a taxi recently whose driver told me that he spends over 500 shekel weekly on the payis. i have educated friends who are subscribers to the weekly draw of lottto! I simply cannot fathom why we turn a blind eye to this legalised gambling?
And if you say: well it is a mild form, and it does so much public good, then, at least don't advertise it so regularly and so attractively. This hits precisely the poor sectors of the population. I resent the advertsising greatly and I think it should be seriously limited.
All well and good. Many Thanks!
And yet, the media is swamped by advertising for the Lottery. Today my six-year-old was singing along: "Lotto, Lotto, Lotto, Mi Haba BaLotto!" as I listened to the enticing radio commercial telling me just how easily one can become a millionaire. (My 3 yr old sings it too!) The orange Payis booths are in every mall and every shopping street. The ads are on the radio and even on National TV which legally has no commercials will broadcast ads for the Lotto.
So where is my point? I think that in a country in which many people are rather impoverished, where gambling and casinos are illegal, I simply do not understand why I am being battered at all times by a slick advertising campaign aimed at getting me to gamble! Is gambling just fine when it goes to charity? No! gambling is a problem because poor people with a miserable present and dreams of a better future squander the money that they do not have and get into debt by risking their money on a whim. That is precisely what happens with Lotto, Totto, Chish-Gad and all the other products. I was in a taxi recently whose driver told me that he spends over 500 shekel weekly on the payis. i have educated friends who are subscribers to the weekly draw of lottto! I simply cannot fathom why we turn a blind eye to this legalised gambling?
And if you say: well it is a mild form, and it does so much public good, then, at least don't advertise it so regularly and so attractively. This hits precisely the poor sectors of the population. I resent the advertsising greatly and I think it should be seriously limited.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Nehama Leibowitz Gilyonot Online
Nehama Leibowitz was a remarkable person. When I think of her, two traits come to mind. Her humility and modesty, and her dedication and skill as a teacher. Even her death exemplified these traits. She requested that when she die, no Hespedim (eulogies) be delivered at her funeral, and that the only praise on her metzeva (tombstone) be that she was "המורה" - The Teacher.
I sat in class with her only once. I own her books. But if you truly wish to get to know Nechama, then study her Gilyonot - her parasha sheets. They are now online here. Please understand that these Gilyonot are truly a treasure trove on the Internet.
Why is it in her Gilyonot that Nechama comes to life? Because there are no answers to her Gilyonot, only questions. Nechama presents a text and asks insightful, thought provoking questions. She makes us think, and think hard, to read and re-read the text and to dig deep in order to discover and reveal the answers.
Many accolades have been given to Nechama. She opened Chumash to serious study. She popularised study of Rishonim and the comparisons between them. She read Midrash in innovative ways. She was an expert in Peirush Rashi. But none of these describe her true power.
You see, Nechama was THE master teacher. There are some people who have creative minds emerging with new insights and fresh commentaries. Nechama did not write commentaries. But she had an unbelieveable teaching ability. She loved to teach people to read carefully, to ask questions, to ask the right questions, to probe the text, to understand the differences between one parshan and the next.
In the single class I sat with her, she was teaching Sefer Yona. She read some pesukim, made a few observations, and then gave the class a 2 minute assignment. I was busy writing my notes on her comments and welcomed the extra two minutes to finish those lines. Suddenly I sensed someone standing over my left shoulder. It was Nechama standing behind me, like an old time school-teacher. She prompted me: "Why aren't you doing the assignment? Come on! Get to work!" And she wouldn't leave until she saw me writing her work. You see, she didn't want people to simply record her observations. She insisted that a student be an active learner, discovering the text anew. She was unrelenting in her demand that students not take the easy way out, not wait for the "chiddush" but engage in the process of learning.
For next Shabbat download one of the gilyonot and study it bechavruta. You will see her unique power; the power of questions.
I sat in class with her only once. I own her books. But if you truly wish to get to know Nechama, then study her Gilyonot - her parasha sheets. They are now online here. Please understand that these Gilyonot are truly a treasure trove on the Internet.
Why is it in her Gilyonot that Nechama comes to life? Because there are no answers to her Gilyonot, only questions. Nechama presents a text and asks insightful, thought provoking questions. She makes us think, and think hard, to read and re-read the text and to dig deep in order to discover and reveal the answers.
Many accolades have been given to Nechama. She opened Chumash to serious study. She popularised study of Rishonim and the comparisons between them. She read Midrash in innovative ways. She was an expert in Peirush Rashi. But none of these describe her true power.
You see, Nechama was THE master teacher. There are some people who have creative minds emerging with new insights and fresh commentaries. Nechama did not write commentaries. But she had an unbelieveable teaching ability. She loved to teach people to read carefully, to ask questions, to ask the right questions, to probe the text, to understand the differences between one parshan and the next.
In the single class I sat with her, she was teaching Sefer Yona. She read some pesukim, made a few observations, and then gave the class a 2 minute assignment. I was busy writing my notes on her comments and welcomed the extra two minutes to finish those lines. Suddenly I sensed someone standing over my left shoulder. It was Nechama standing behind me, like an old time school-teacher. She prompted me: "Why aren't you doing the assignment? Come on! Get to work!" And she wouldn't leave until she saw me writing her work. You see, she didn't want people to simply record her observations. She insisted that a student be an active learner, discovering the text anew. She was unrelenting in her demand that students not take the easy way out, not wait for the "chiddush" but engage in the process of learning.
For next Shabbat download one of the gilyonot and study it bechavruta. You will see her unique power; the power of questions.
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Parashat Teruma. Shechina-Shechuna-Mishkan
When parents reach Parashat Teruma they take a deep breath. After looking at the pictures in the "Mishkan Book" many parents are at a loss as to what to discuss with their children around the Shabbat table.
Some years ago, searching for inspiration I opened this children's Torah book by Joel Grishaver, a California based Torah educator, and really one of the most creative family educators in the Jewish world. He is not Orthodox but his education seeks to teach Torah and truth. (see http://www.torahaura.com/) This is from a book called "A Child's Garden of Torah"
Grishaver writes here:
"Most people writing a children's Bible would skip the Tabernacle. We couldn't for two reasons: (1) Kids think that the Tabernacle is neat. (2) The idea that we can build places where God is our neighbour is too important to skip..."
What I love about the text here is the chiddush that I had never though of until I saw this page. The connection between the word Shechina, and the Hebrew שכן as in neighbours and שכונה meaning neighbourhood.
The word schechina is always translated as "God's Presence" giving one the imagination of a dense white cloud or the like ... something with real space, gravitas and "presence."
But when the Torah says ועשו לי מקדש ושכנתי בתוכם God is saying quite simply that He wishes to dwell amongst us. And this is incredible. When we think of a new neighbour moving in next door, God is moving in next door! The childlike simple language brought home the idea that God wants to be our neighbour! He is moving into the neighbourhood! and that is huge! Why? Because no earthquakes are happening. God is simply establishing a residence in teh centre of teh Camp of Israel.
Of course this is a great privilege but also an enormous responsibility for everyone living in the shechuna. But, once again, I had never quite appreciated that God's Shekhina is not a "thing." It is essentially God's closeness ... his residence in and around us. And this very simple text brought it home in a very deep way.
Some years ago, searching for inspiration I opened this children's Torah book by Joel Grishaver, a California based Torah educator, and really one of the most creative family educators in the Jewish world. He is not Orthodox but his education seeks to teach Torah and truth. (see http://www.torahaura.com/) This is from a book called "A Child's Garden of Torah"
Grishaver writes here:
"Most people writing a children's Bible would skip the Tabernacle. We couldn't for two reasons: (1) Kids think that the Tabernacle is neat. (2) The idea that we can build places where God is our neighbour is too important to skip..."
What I love about the text here is the chiddush that I had never though of until I saw this page. The connection between the word Shechina, and the Hebrew שכן as in neighbours and שכונה meaning neighbourhood.
The word schechina is always translated as "God's Presence" giving one the imagination of a dense white cloud or the like ... something with real space, gravitas and "presence."
But when the Torah says ועשו לי מקדש ושכנתי בתוכם God is saying quite simply that He wishes to dwell amongst us. And this is incredible. When we think of a new neighbour moving in next door, God is moving in next door! The childlike simple language brought home the idea that God wants to be our neighbour! He is moving into the neighbourhood! and that is huge! Why? Because no earthquakes are happening. God is simply establishing a residence in teh centre of teh Camp of Israel.
Of course this is a great privilege but also an enormous responsibility for everyone living in the shechuna. But, once again, I had never quite appreciated that God's Shekhina is not a "thing." It is essentially God's closeness ... his residence in and around us. And this very simple text brought it home in a very deep way.
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Snow in the Gush ... and the Livin' is Easy
So, last week, we had our heaviest snowfall in years. The Gush is 100 metres above Jerusalem and is open countryside and hence much colder than J-lem. The snow fell on Tuesday night and continued pretty much until Thursday morning. But the amazing thing for anyone who doesn't live here, is that when it snows, everything stops. They don't plow the roads (except main roads), no-one goes to work, school is cancelled, and everyone just hangs out at home!
It is really quite the most calm and relaxed feeling knowing that one has nowhere to go. shul starts at 8:00 and the last minyan is at 10:00 or so. Everyone is calm. The kids were so happy - and relaxed - just reading, playing in the snow, watching some TV and just - relaxing. In Israel, where we don't get a Sunday, it was really a welcome holiday.
But on the other hand, I have never quite understood why everyone simply accepts the fact that we are well and truly stuck. We are only 15 minutes from Jerusalem! I recall in 1992 going to Jerusalem for the evening and being unable to return for 3 days due to the snow. (Luckily I had my tefillin with me that time... but I didn't have a change of clothes. Don't ask!) Well to be fair - while the snow is coming down, it is treacherous to drive. It is pretty impossible to keep 10 km of road clear of ice and snow. But it stopped snowing on Thursday at 9 a.m. They didn't plow our street until 5 p.m.! It always seems that nobody is in any particular hurry for the snow to be over. Now, I know that we are a small village of 700 families, but doesn't anyone have work to do?
A couple of years back, after it had snowed, I really wanted to get somewhere and they were really taking their time with the snow plow. I called the local Moetza (town council/municipality) to complain and request that my street be cleared. I got through to the main man in charge, and gave him a well rehearsed speech. To which he replied in a calm, relaxed tone:
"What's your problem? You don't love your family? You have one day in the year to spend with your wife and kids! What's the hurry!"
On the one hand, this is just typical Israeli Chutzpa. But, he had a point. It would appear that this is the annual excuse for staying in bed late and relaxing with the family over a cup of hot chocolate. It is one of the fringe benefits of living in Gush Etzion. This year I really enjoyed it.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
The Fate of the Ten Commandments
Sometimes in Western Societies, people like to think that morality is somehwat transcribed by the Ten Commandments. There is an impression that in broad terms civilised cultures accord with this classic of the Judeo-Christian tradition. (I have serious issues with that phrase, but for this argument, it works.)
So this week, as we read the Ten Commandments, I began to wonder which of the Ten Commandments is the least kept in contemporary society... and I am thinking in the broadest of senses.
So let us begin from the top. 1. Belief in God - At some level we could claim that society still believes in a God. Yes there is widespread atheism and skepticism, and yet "In God we trust" - polls during the '90s and '00s suggest that over 90% of Americans believe in God. So do a widespread majority of Israelis.
As for idolatry in the classic sense, it is all but absent in Western Society.
The topic of Blasphemy may have been raised with the Salman Rushdie scandal and also those Islamic cartoons in the Van Gogh incident. There is definitely a tension between free speech or artistic expression on the one hand, and religious views on the other. And yet good civilised society does attempt to be respectful to religion.
The Sabbath? well - Western society has embraced the notion of a weekend and it is encoded in many labour laws.
Parental Respect we shall return to.
Society subscribes to Thou shall not Kill , Steal, bear False Witness, in a broad sense.
And so now we come to the problem ones! I think that contemporary society has given 3 of the Ten Commandments a really raw deal. [Let me add that it is modern society in particular that has developed these problems. There were other problems 100 years ago, but these 3 were upkept in general society then.]
First, adultery. On the books we still accept fidelity in marriage. However, we all know that marriage has seriously been hit over the past fifty years. A student leader was recently telling me that amongst university and post-college age students it is a rarity to find a person who has not cheated on their boy/girlfriend. I am not talking about "hooking up" and random sexual partnerships but rather any sense of fidelity within a committed relationship. apparently it barely exists. Homosexuality is a legitimate life choice and a source of pride. Any Hollywood movie will assume that adultery is absolutely justified if one person is in a loveless marriage. All this amounts to a veritable obliteration of any sense of crime in association with adultery. In this dimension we have a contemporary ethic that is incredibly at varience with Torah values.
Maybe along with the breakdown of family in terms of the marital unit comes the lack of any sense of "honour your father and mother." Respect for, not to speak of obedience to parents has been seriously corroded over the past fifty years. Many factors are to be taken into account, way beyond my ability in this post. But no one can doubt that "honour" in the traditional sense, is almost lost in a modern concept. (Many have documented that contemporary parents seek to be their childrens' friends rather than their parents, moral guides or disciplinarians. It is not simply children who don't have "Respect" for parents. Parents do not anticipate that the parent-child relationship be a hierarchical relationship. They want it to be horizontal, casual, intimate - an association of equals, of friends.)
But one virtue that seems to be an unbelievable casualty of contemporary capitalistic consumer culture is the notion of "Lo Tachmod" - Thou Shalt Not Covet - the notion of envy, and desiring things that belong to others. In the '80s Gordon Gecko proclaimed that "Greed is Good" and we haven't looked back. We have an insatiable consumer appetite fueled by slick images and marketing strategies that help us to fell unsatisfied with our lives if they are without this product or that "look." We are victims of an enormous commercial machine that charges ferociously in order to ensure that we are always unsatisfied with what we own and that we covet something else. Our contemporary mood is the opposite of איזהו עשיר? השמח בחלקו. I fear that this value of not seeking the things that we do not own is almost lost to our society. "He who dares, wins" in todays world, and one is supposed to have drive, ambition in todays world. I am not saying that in today's world we condone a person who envies the next person. But yet, the underlying atmosphere runs, in a most deep manner, in a counter direction to the ethic of Torah. This problem pervades many "frum" communities too, and we should be watchful about rampant materialism as it is very much in contradiction to the spirit of Torah.
Feel free to add your comments.
So this week, as we read the Ten Commandments, I began to wonder which of the Ten Commandments is the least kept in contemporary society... and I am thinking in the broadest of senses.
So let us begin from the top. 1. Belief in God - At some level we could claim that society still believes in a God. Yes there is widespread atheism and skepticism, and yet "In God we trust" - polls during the '90s and '00s suggest that over 90% of Americans believe in God. So do a widespread majority of Israelis.
As for idolatry in the classic sense, it is all but absent in Western Society.
The topic of Blasphemy may have been raised with the Salman Rushdie scandal and also those Islamic cartoons in the Van Gogh incident. There is definitely a tension between free speech or artistic expression on the one hand, and religious views on the other. And yet good civilised society does attempt to be respectful to religion.
The Sabbath? well - Western society has embraced the notion of a weekend and it is encoded in many labour laws.
Parental Respect we shall return to.
Society subscribes to Thou shall not Kill , Steal, bear False Witness, in a broad sense.
And so now we come to the problem ones! I think that contemporary society has given 3 of the Ten Commandments a really raw deal. [Let me add that it is modern society in particular that has developed these problems. There were other problems 100 years ago, but these 3 were upkept in general society then.]
First, adultery. On the books we still accept fidelity in marriage. However, we all know that marriage has seriously been hit over the past fifty years. A student leader was recently telling me that amongst university and post-college age students it is a rarity to find a person who has not cheated on their boy/girlfriend. I am not talking about "hooking up" and random sexual partnerships but rather any sense of fidelity within a committed relationship. apparently it barely exists. Homosexuality is a legitimate life choice and a source of pride. Any Hollywood movie will assume that adultery is absolutely justified if one person is in a loveless marriage. All this amounts to a veritable obliteration of any sense of crime in association with adultery. In this dimension we have a contemporary ethic that is incredibly at varience with Torah values.
Maybe along with the breakdown of family in terms of the marital unit comes the lack of any sense of "honour your father and mother." Respect for, not to speak of obedience to parents has been seriously corroded over the past fifty years. Many factors are to be taken into account, way beyond my ability in this post. But no one can doubt that "honour" in the traditional sense, is almost lost in a modern concept. (Many have documented that contemporary parents seek to be their childrens' friends rather than their parents, moral guides or disciplinarians. It is not simply children who don't have "Respect" for parents. Parents do not anticipate that the parent-child relationship be a hierarchical relationship. They want it to be horizontal, casual, intimate - an association of equals, of friends.)
But one virtue that seems to be an unbelievable casualty of contemporary capitalistic consumer culture is the notion of "Lo Tachmod" - Thou Shalt Not Covet - the notion of envy, and desiring things that belong to others. In the '80s Gordon Gecko proclaimed that "Greed is Good" and we haven't looked back. We have an insatiable consumer appetite fueled by slick images and marketing strategies that help us to fell unsatisfied with our lives if they are without this product or that "look." We are victims of an enormous commercial machine that charges ferociously in order to ensure that we are always unsatisfied with what we own and that we covet something else. Our contemporary mood is the opposite of איזהו עשיר? השמח בחלקו. I fear that this value of not seeking the things that we do not own is almost lost to our society. "He who dares, wins" in todays world, and one is supposed to have drive, ambition in todays world. I am not saying that in today's world we condone a person who envies the next person. But yet, the underlying atmosphere runs, in a most deep manner, in a counter direction to the ethic of Torah. This problem pervades many "frum" communities too, and we should be watchful about rampant materialism as it is very much in contradiction to the spirit of Torah.
Feel free to add your comments.
Friday, January 25, 2008
שבת מנוחה
There is a song that Israeli kids sing on Friday's in Gan (and bigger kids in the army):
היום יום ששי
מחר שבת
שבת מנוחה
Now in the religious school system, they sing the words שבת קודש instead of שבת מנוחה. I never understood why. I imagine that the aim is in some manner to say that Shabbat is not simply a day to rest, unwind, relax but rather an active spiritual day in which we connect with God, and Torah etc.
But what's wrong with resting - just resting - sleeping, reading the newspaper (God forbid!), hanging with the wife 'n kids on Shabbat? After all, the famous Shabbat Zemer "Yom Zeh Leyisrael" has the chorus line of "Shabbat Menucha"! We use the phrase Shabbat Menucha in a Shabbat liturgy. And let's not forget... God Himself rested on Shabbat!
Soemtimes Shabbat is a crazy hectic day with lots of shul (too much sometimes ... dare I blaspheme?) and huge amount sof entertaining guests. It then is neither Shabbat Kodesh nor Shabbat Menucha.
And to create a spiritual "Shabbat Kodesh" is a challeneg in itself.
This has been a crazy week. This week, I, for one , am looking forward to a good 12 hour sleep tonight.
שבת מנוחה
היום יום ששי
מחר שבת
שבת מנוחה
Now in the religious school system, they sing the words שבת קודש instead of שבת מנוחה. I never understood why. I imagine that the aim is in some manner to say that Shabbat is not simply a day to rest, unwind, relax but rather an active spiritual day in which we connect with God, and Torah etc.
But what's wrong with resting - just resting - sleeping, reading the newspaper (God forbid!), hanging with the wife 'n kids on Shabbat? After all, the famous Shabbat Zemer "Yom Zeh Leyisrael" has the chorus line of "Shabbat Menucha"! We use the phrase Shabbat Menucha in a Shabbat liturgy. And let's not forget... God Himself rested on Shabbat!
Soemtimes Shabbat is a crazy hectic day with lots of shul (too much sometimes ... dare I blaspheme?) and huge amount sof entertaining guests. It then is neither Shabbat Kodesh nor Shabbat Menucha.
And to create a spiritual "Shabbat Kodesh" is a challeneg in itself.
This has been a crazy week. This week, I, for one , am looking forward to a good 12 hour sleep tonight.
שבת מנוחה
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
What's Going To Be With Gaza?
You have to hand it to the Palestinians. Israel had erected a border fence of metal sheeting and sunk the metal deep into the ground to prevent subterrainean smuggling tunnels. The Palestinians have apparently spent many months with oxy-acetylene torches which, it would seem, somehow eat through the fabric of the border wall. and so when they detonated 17 explosive devices this morning, the entire wall came crashing down and 200,000 Gazans crossed the border. Quite impressive!
Sort of reminds me of the way Egypt detroyed the Bar Lev Line in 1973. The Bar Lev line was a defense ramp made of sand and earth. The egyptians got through by hosing it down with high pressure water hoses.
But, of course, this just raises more questions. I have always felt that if they really want to overcome an obstacle, the Palestinians can find simple ways to exploit our national infrastructure. What will be next? Hamas is only 20 years old. They continue to demonstrate what one may achieve with determination, belief and ingenuity. But they are most certainly the enemy. Why? Because they call for Israe's destruction!
What does this say regarding any future border, or any accomodation with the Palestinians? With Kassams flying past and with the Palestinians simply willing to obliterate the border wall, our "siege" on Gaza certainly doesn't work. Of course military action in Gaza may provide short-term relief but is hardly a long-term solution. Is there any long-term solution for Hamas who wish to see Israel wiped off the face of the map of the Middle-East?
Sort of reminds me of the way Egypt detroyed the Bar Lev Line in 1973. The Bar Lev line was a defense ramp made of sand and earth. The egyptians got through by hosing it down with high pressure water hoses.
But, of course, this just raises more questions. I have always felt that if they really want to overcome an obstacle, the Palestinians can find simple ways to exploit our national infrastructure. What will be next? Hamas is only 20 years old. They continue to demonstrate what one may achieve with determination, belief and ingenuity. But they are most certainly the enemy. Why? Because they call for Israe's destruction!
What does this say regarding any future border, or any accomodation with the Palestinians? With Kassams flying past and with the Palestinians simply willing to obliterate the border wall, our "siege" on Gaza certainly doesn't work. Of course military action in Gaza may provide short-term relief but is hardly a long-term solution. Is there any long-term solution for Hamas who wish to see Israel wiped off the face of the map of the Middle-East?
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Heblish!
Bush is here and America is all over the news (and all over Jerusalem.) In Bush's honour we invite all American citizens to make Aliya!
Actually, due to all the parking restrictions and anticipated road closures during Bush's visit, when I had to drive to Rechavia today at midday, it was like driving at 2:00 a.m. No traffic. Thanks Bush!
On the radio this evening, they told a great episode that happened at the dinner that Ehud Olmert held at his residence. apparently, Bush went around the table asking every minister where his/her parents were born. He was amazed that not a single govt. minister's parents were born in Eretz Yisrael! Well - welcome to the miracle of Kibbutz Galuyot! (ingathering of the Exiles.)
Actually, due to all the parking restrictions and anticipated road closures during Bush's visit, when I had to drive to Rechavia today at midday, it was like driving at 2:00 a.m. No traffic. Thanks Bush!
On the radio this evening, they told a great episode that happened at the dinner that Ehud Olmert held at his residence. apparently, Bush went around the table asking every minister where his/her parents were born. He was amazed that not a single govt. minister's parents were born in Eretz Yisrael! Well - welcome to the miracle of Kibbutz Galuyot! (ingathering of the Exiles.)
Co-Ed or not Co-Ed
Apparently, Rav Aviner has come out with some exceptionally stringent (link) rules for strict separation between the sexes amongst the faculties of schools in National-Religious schools system.
Thankfully, Rav Yigal Ariel (link) has come out with a response which is so imbued with simple common sense, it is a pleasure to read. (And an unfortunate comment on the state of the times when we have to praise simple moderate common sense!)
He complains that Rav Aviner has simply adopted a Haredi standard. Moreover he suggests that amongst the faculties of schools in the Dati-Leumi camp, problems of flirting and harassment are basically non-existent.
But I loved this paragraph:
בציבור החרדי השתרשה נורמה חדשה לפיה קובעים כללים חדשים, מחוץ להלכה, ומטילים אותם באופן גורף על כל הציבור. בכל הדורות נזקק האדם הדתי לרבנים כדי ללמוד את ההלכה ולהכריע בשאלות מסופקות, אבל בתחום האפור סמכו הכל על כך שיש לו ראש ישר, והוא בדרכיו שלו יתאים את המציאות בכל מקום לרוח ההלכה.
"In the Haredi community, a norm has taken root of new rules and standards, beyond the lines of "Halakha" and these rules are imposed on the entire community. Throughout the generations, religious people had Rabbis with whom they would consult in questionable circumstances, however in certain grey areas, they relied upon the fact that people had common sense and that straight thinking would apply the given situation to the spirit of Halakha."
I remember talking to Rav Lichtenstein some years ago about co-ed situations (in connection to Bnei Akiva.) He told me a story about his mother z"l . She frequently visited a certain European city and stayed with a particular family with whom she was friendly. However one Shabbat, there was a conference of the Moetzet Gedolei HaTorah in the city and many of the European Torah leaders were hosted by families. When she asked to stay at her friends, they informed here that they were hosting a certain Hassidish Rebbe and that he didn't have women present at the Shabbat table. If this bothered her, they suggested that she might prefer to stay elsewhere. And so, she stayed with a different family, a home where the Rogatchover was eating. He did have women at the Shabbat table, and that was fine.
Rav Lichtenstein was telling me that there have always been differing traditions in this context and we should not imagine that one approach or another is more "correct."
Thankfully, Rav Yigal Ariel (link) has come out with a response which is so imbued with simple common sense, it is a pleasure to read. (And an unfortunate comment on the state of the times when we have to praise simple moderate common sense!)
He complains that Rav Aviner has simply adopted a Haredi standard. Moreover he suggests that amongst the faculties of schools in the Dati-Leumi camp, problems of flirting and harassment are basically non-existent.
But I loved this paragraph:
בציבור החרדי השתרשה נורמה חדשה לפיה קובעים כללים חדשים, מחוץ להלכה, ומטילים אותם באופן גורף על כל הציבור. בכל הדורות נזקק האדם הדתי לרבנים כדי ללמוד את ההלכה ולהכריע בשאלות מסופקות, אבל בתחום האפור סמכו הכל על כך שיש לו ראש ישר, והוא בדרכיו שלו יתאים את המציאות בכל מקום לרוח ההלכה.
"In the Haredi community, a norm has taken root of new rules and standards, beyond the lines of "Halakha" and these rules are imposed on the entire community. Throughout the generations, religious people had Rabbis with whom they would consult in questionable circumstances, however in certain grey areas, they relied upon the fact that people had common sense and that straight thinking would apply the given situation to the spirit of Halakha."
I remember talking to Rav Lichtenstein some years ago about co-ed situations (in connection to Bnei Akiva.) He told me a story about his mother z"l . She frequently visited a certain European city and stayed with a particular family with whom she was friendly. However one Shabbat, there was a conference of the Moetzet Gedolei HaTorah in the city and many of the European Torah leaders were hosted by families. When she asked to stay at her friends, they informed here that they were hosting a certain Hassidish Rebbe and that he didn't have women present at the Shabbat table. If this bothered her, they suggested that she might prefer to stay elsewhere. And so, she stayed with a different family, a home where the Rogatchover was eating. He did have women at the Shabbat table, and that was fine.
Rav Lichtenstein was telling me that there have always been differing traditions in this context and we should not imagine that one approach or another is more "correct."
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
'67 Borders?
Here is an interesting post (link) from Treppenwitz. I don't agree with it all. However, here is the bit I liked:
When most people today say "the '67 borders" in relation to territorial compromise, they are talking about the borders that existed on June 5th, 1967... which were, in fact, the 1949 Armistice lines.... Israel's de facto borders at the end of the War of Independence.
But since a return to the 1949 borders - even a modified version - would be tantamount to admitting that every war fought since (and every Israeli killed in 60 years of Arab aggression) was for naught, you will almost never hear that phrase used in the news.
...It's really no surprise that the left-leaning media and the Olmert government are very careful to only talk about returning to "the '67 borders". How else can one consider giving a do-over on not one, but three major wars (and six decades of Arab intransigence)... in return for nothing more than vague promises to recognize our right to exist. Sort of.
Funny how just changing the terms with which a topic is discussed can change one's entire perception. Basically, when the product you are selling stinks, the best strategy is to make sure it is packaged nicely. And let's face it... calling for a return to relatively modern borders sounds a heck of a lot nicer than a retreat to indefensible borders that existed at the end of our War of Independence! Yet, without saying as much, it is the latter that everyone seems to be talking about today.
When most people today say "the '67 borders" in relation to territorial compromise, they are talking about the borders that existed on June 5th, 1967... which were, in fact, the 1949 Armistice lines.... Israel's de facto borders at the end of the War of Independence.
But since a return to the 1949 borders - even a modified version - would be tantamount to admitting that every war fought since (and every Israeli killed in 60 years of Arab aggression) was for naught, you will almost never hear that phrase used in the news.
...It's really no surprise that the left-leaning media and the Olmert government are very careful to only talk about returning to "the '67 borders". How else can one consider giving a do-over on not one, but three major wars (and six decades of Arab intransigence)... in return for nothing more than vague promises to recognize our right to exist. Sort of.
Funny how just changing the terms with which a topic is discussed can change one's entire perception. Basically, when the product you are selling stinks, the best strategy is to make sure it is packaged nicely. And let's face it... calling for a return to relatively modern borders sounds a heck of a lot nicer than a retreat to indefensible borders that existed at the end of our War of Independence! Yet, without saying as much, it is the latter that everyone seems to be talking about today.
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Scholarly or Hospitable?
I was learning Pirkei Avot with my son yesterday. Studying these two Mishnayot I was struck between the contrasting approaches that they represent.
We are talking about a "pair" of contemporaneous Talmidei Chachamim who together lead their generation: Yosi ben Yoezer of Tzeredah and Yosi ben Yochanan of Jerusalem. Here are their mottos :-
We are talking about a "pair" of contemporaneous Talmidei Chachamim who together lead their generation: Yosi ben Yoezer of Tzeredah and Yosi ben Yochanan of Jerusalem. Here are their mottos :-
יוסי בן יועזר איש צרדה ויוסי בן יוחנן איש ירושלים קבלו מהם יוסי בן יועזר אומר יהי ביתך בית ועד לחכמים והוי מתאבק בעפר רגליהם והוי שותה בצמא את דבריהם:
4. Yosi ben Yoezer of Tzeredah and Yosi ben Yochanan of Jerusalem received the Torah from them. Yosi ben Yoezer of Tzeredah said: Let your house be a meetinghouse for the sages and sit amid the dust of their feet and drink in their words with thirst.
משנה מסכת אבות פרק א משנה ד
משנה ה
יוסי בן יוחנן איש ירושלים אומר יהי ביתך פתוח לרוחה ויהיו עניים בני ביתך ואל תרבה שיחה עם האשה באשתו אמרו קל וחומר באשת חברו מכאן אמרו חכמים כל זמן שאדם מרבה שיחה עם האשה גורם רעה לעצמו ובוטל מדברי תורה וסופו יורש גיהנום:
5. Yosi ben Yochanan of Jerusalem said: Let your house be wide open and let the poor be members of thy household; and do not talk much with women. This was said about one's own wife; how much more so about the wife of one's neighbor.
Both scholars invite outsiders into their respective homes. But the guests are very different.
For Yossi ben Yoezer (the 1st text - Mishna 4) it is all about ensuring that your home is filled with Torah scholars. One's home is in essence, a Beit Midrash in which a person may learn from the words and personal example of the wise. In one's own home, a person sits in the dust of the feet of the Talmid Chacham. In fact, one "drinks" their Torah with "thirst"...the food and drink served in one's home is the Torah of the wise.
How enormously different is the home of Yossi Ben Yochanan. His home was based upon the principle of hospitality. He advised that a person welcome everyone (not just wise people) into one's home, especially the poor and needy. Moreover the poor will not be "guests" but members of the household. They feel at home there. (And because the house is so open, one must be careful about intimacy with women who are not part of your household.) One imagines that the food and drink in his home was edible. It was real food and not Torah.
What variation in orientation! In the first we see an atmosphere designed for the intellectual elite, based upon personal piety and intense Torah study. In the second, an environment which is accessible to all and without divisions, where all are welcome, based upon giving and love.
What different religious ideologies!
One can only imagine the very different atmosphere, and the contrasting moods between these two homes of Jewish leaders.
Which home would you feel more comfortable in?
Thursday, January 03, 2008
Shlomo Artzi is a Belzer Chassid at Heart!
On the nrg site they have an amazing clip of Shlomo Artzi - maybe Israel's top rock artist. He was recording his music at a recording studio (some 12 years ago!) and next door was a choir singing Belzer niggunim in Yiddish. So watch Shlomo artzi singing like a true chassid, from the depths of his heart! (link here)
What can I say... it all just makes me think how bad it is that we are so enclaved here into our little sub-groups. Just look how a chance meeting in a recording studio brings different people together. If we all lived in more "mixed" environments, maybe we could erase so many of those divisions in Israeli society. It is amazing that although on a day to day basis religious and secular mix in a warm and very civil manner, stereotypes still prevail. Anyhow, if you ever doubted Shlomo Artzi's yiddshe neshama, here is proof.
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